Friday, July 29, 2011

My husband has always wanted a rice cooker and so with some Christmas money he got from his Grandpa, he bought himself one. We wanted to find some recipes that was more of a meal than just rice and I found 2 online that we really, really like. This is one of them. Here is what you need.

2 cups rice2 cups beef stock (I like to use what I have in the house. I don't buy beef stock but I do buy chicken broth. Sometimes I'll use a can of chicken broth plus a can of water. Or if I really want to, I'll use bouillon cubes. Either beef or chicken and just crush them up in 2 cups of water.)

1 Tablespoon oil1 1/2 cups ham, cubed; this is about 1 lb (The recipe I found had you use bacon but we like the ham and usually have ham on hand.)1 onion, chopped1 clove garlic, minced; or pressed if you have a garlic press1 cup frozen veggies, (We like to use the stir fry mix but you can use the peas and carrot mix too.)2 Tablespoons soy sauce4-6 eggs scrambled (optional)

Turn on your rice cooker. Add oil, ham, onion and garlic. Stir frequently until onion is soft. A good rule of thumb that my mother-in-law taught me was when the onion is clear, its soft.

Add rice and coat in the oil. Add veggies and beef stock, (or what ever you choose).

Mix. Cover. Cook. When it's done add your soy sauce and eggs.

Serve.

So good. We haven't had any left overs the last 2 times I've made this. And I've made it twice this this month. My kids love it!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Look at this great idea! My friend Stephanie had come up for dinner with us and she pulled out this.

I had one because my baby was a bottle feeder and it was just sitting my my window, collecting dust. As you can see, it isn't just for formula. She has some of the coolest ideas! I just had to steal this one and share.
As long as you use little treats that will come out the hole, you are good.

I have Fruit Loops.

Gold fish.

Cinnamon Cheerios.

What a great idea! Now I have treats in the diaper bag, it doesn't take up too much room and I have options for the baby instead of just fruit snacks. You are amazing Steph!

Okay, so the 4th for so very long ago but I never got any pictures of my girls in their dresses on the 4th. My baby isn't so hot on having her picture taken anyways so I had to be a little tricky.

Here is my oldest daughters dress. It is another one of the $1 patterns I got about a year ago. I like how it went together but it was HUGE on her. I made it a size 5, she is 5 and it just hung on her. I ended up pinning up the straps and moving the buttons over 3 inches. This might be one of those dresses that she'll be able to wear as a shirt when she is a teenager. One of the dresses she has now was a sun dress that was mine when I was little and I wore it in high school as a shirt. Oh, to only be that skinny again.

Here is the baby's. I made these dresses just because I saw the one that I had made my oldest when she was this little and I think I gave it away. I was so sad because it was such a fun dress and the hat! It it the same pattern that I posted here. I use this pattern a lot as you can tell.

The rick-rack is one of my favorite on this dress. And the hat. Of course, having my baby have all that curly hair sticking out from underneath it helps with the effect. :0) Please don't mind the changing table and diaper garbage in the back ground. She really is the hardest baby to get pictures of and I have to take what I can get.

I had to put this one in. Isn't she the cutest!

Here are the two dresses together. I love dressing my girls in matching outfits. I did the same thing with my boys when they were younger.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

This is the best meat sauce that I have every had. I have gotten the recipe out of my "Stoneware Inspirations" cook book from Pampered Chef. I use to sell Pampered Chef and I really enjoyed it. My husband finally talked me out of selling when I was spending more than I was earning. But I have a ton of fun things from them and I love the cook book. This one I have tweaked a little bit so I'll share what I do.

You will need:

5 lbs of hamburger
4-5 medium onions, (I used 3 large white onions this time)
3-4 green peppers, (I used 2 green and 1 orange. We like it with yellow and red too. I usually use one of each color)
5-6 garlic cloves, (again, use to taste, we love garlic so I use a lot)
5 cans (28 oz) diced tomatoes in juice, undrained, (I used whole tomatoes and just cut them up by hand because that is what I had on hand. I prefer to use the petite diced tomatoes)
5 cans (8oz) tomato sauce
3 Tablespoons sugar.

Chop the onions and peppers. I have a garlic press that I use for my garlic but you can mice them if you don't.

Brown with the hamburger. Drain. I do this in different parts. My pan is not big enough to hold all 5 lbs of hamburger plus the onions and peppers all at once so I cook it 3 times. I split the hamburger, onions and peppers into 3 parts and cook each one on its own. When one is done I'll put it in the larger stock pot on warm, while the others are cooking I add the tomatoes and sauce to what is already cooked.

Once it's all cooked and mixed together let simmer for an hour or two. I like to let it simmer for most of the day when I do this big of a batch. That way the peppers and onions are all soft and it just makes it taste better I think.

Let it cool. Separate into freezer bags with 4-5 cups in each. I make 3 different things with this meat sauce. Tacos, (just add taco seasoning to the meat sauce and warm up), Lasagna, (add a can (8 oz) tomato sauce and some Italian seasoning to the meat sauce) and Chili. My Favorite!!! (Add a can of tomato sauce, chili seasoning and a can of beans. I like to add two cans of beans, I like beans. :0) Serve with monkey bread. That will have to be another post soon.)

So happy to have all this. It lasts a while for us because we only use a bag every two weeks or so because we can get two meals out of one bag.

Monday, July 11, 2011

I found this at Broadbents today when I walked over after my dentist appointment today. Yeah, I think I need this. So many cute patterns and I want to make them all. The messenger bag, the IPod holder, so many bags that I can't even remember them all. I'm going to be saving my pennies for this one.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

I love this pattern. I know I say that a lot but I really do love this pattern for little baby dresses. I love when my friends have baby girls in the summer because then I get to make them these cute, wonderful dresses.

I had a good friend having a baby shower today and I spent all morning putting this together.

It went together so smooth! I told my husband it was all because of my new sewing machine. I have never had one go together so well.

I love the straps! Are they not just the cutest!

And this hat!!! It just makes the dress.

I love the little knot on the back. So cute! I love the lace. It is so much fun to see this on a little baby. LOVE IT!

And you throw it all together in a cute little bag with a hand-made card, it makes it so nice to give it away. Love when I can give something away that I've made with love... in under 3 hours. ;0)

I need to be doing so many things. My scout project for Tuesday, laundry, dishes, weeding the garden, paying bills, cleaning my kitchen for family to come to dinner on Sunday, making a cute little dress for a dear friends baby shower tomorrow, putting things away from our trip, paying some attention to my children I haven't seen all week. Instead I'm going through these.

Pictures of my and my hubby on our honeymoon. It was our 10 year Anniversary on the 2nd and we have planned this trip since November. We never went on a honeymoon so we thought that it was a good time to go.

I think I'll look through these just a bit longer and then I'll come back to the real world. :0)

About Me

Nate and I were married in July of 2001. Tucker made us a family in February of 2002. Thaddeus quickly followed in September 2003. Norma decided to join in the fun March 2006 and Kate completed our family in March 2010. We love our family and love sharing our adventures with you!